Exchange
by Valkirye -Maiev Windrunner
Summary: Anyone can be a normal citizen at day, but at nightfall turn into a hunter who will find a prey. However, they prey too can easily hunt its hunter. In a world where time is everyone's worst enemy there's no place for high morals, feelings or regrets. NxF.


**It's my first time publishing something in English so if anyone wants to correct grammar help is very welcome.**

**I've written in English before, but not free writting so i'm pretty sure narrative is not the best in this story but I tryed to keep the style I feel more confortable with. anyways, I wanted to publish this in spanish as it was originally written, but then I thought about taking the risk and traslate it.**

**That being said. I hope you like the story. And I hope you can guess correctly who is playing which role whit the clues I left. I'll be funny for me to read your ideas about this type of plot.**

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**Exchange**

Water temperature was appropriate. This was her least favorite part of the whole thing , and It had to be done. But even with the relatively good pay she couldn't help but feeling guilty whenever she had to make a withdrawal. She did not want to die, so she was willing to do what it took to keep herself breathing, and for that sole purpose she forgave herself every crime committed.

Besides, she thought that somewhere in the world -thanks to her- someone could keep on living. And clinging to that empty belief, even knowing very well that this unknown was someone with more money than she would ever seen in her life she was able to move on every time. So it was truly not just anyone, but those who were wealthy enough to pay for it.

People like her had to get the dirty job done so the rich across the world (or other planets) lived longer. Technology might had advanced a lot, but the risks were so high that most were not willing to give it a try. A few years ago a tycoon opted for a wonderful liver completely manufactured in a laboratory, it was crafted using samples of his own healthy tissue and it worked great for a few months. Then he became ill and died when the disease also affected his kidneys. Also a couple from Guillion died the same year. A politician who thought to be smarter used a different sample for his shinning new heart, his body rejected it even he was over 98.9% compatible.

Ironically the death rate was higher if one decided to use legal alternatives than if you simply contacted an agent, a heartless man like her boss was a pretty god example for all. You just had to give him a very good amount of interplanetary credits and he will find someone like her to get whatever the client needed.

It would take a few minutes for the tube to fill up. Over half an hour for the dust to finally dissolve, and water temperature could decrease half a grade too. No one had died but she better made sure it continued that way. The sedative effect would last two to three hours, but she didn't want to be there any longer than necessary.

She returned to the room and looked at the girl sleeping peacefully on the bed, with arms and legs fully extended. She sat breathing heavily and finished removing the woman's shirt. She then proceeded to remove her pants and finished folding all her clothes at the head of the bed. Then she lifted her up and put her down on the center of the bed and accommodated the instruments to her right side.

She washed her hands and placing gauze gloves on she took the previously prepared mixture, then she sprayed the woman's exposed abdomen and carefully spaced the fluid in circles until she had a fair coat of disinfectant. She waited a moment, put the mask on and she glanced at her victim's sleeping face: A body in perfect conditions to be profaned, she thought as she reminded herself once again that she was somehow saving a life.

She had taken a blood sample and ran it through the scanner beforehand. Thus she knew the girl was in perfect condition and proceeded to connect her to the devices. Finally she sterilized the scalpel and traced with her forefinger the approximate size for the cut.

It would not very large, in fact she was wondering if an inch cut would be enough, the skin stretched and with some skill she could manage to get the organ without the need of cutting larger. However, it involved spending more time in the process, between twenty minutes and half an hour. The anesthesia she used would not yield until dawn, awareness will resume after twenty minutes or so according to her calculations, and motion should be recovered within an hour. She left on the table a glass of water with a painkiller and an antibiotic, she was sure the girl would go to a doctor and he would give her the bad news. Thus her recovery will completely depend on herself, her life would change but it was all she could do for the girl since she wasn't meeting her ever again. Moreover she couldn't help but thinking how her victim was quite attractive, if they had met in other circumstances it might have been different, but she had to deliver the order the next morning and time was running out. She carefully cut the skin just enough to engage the pliers and insert the instruments.

Using the small led digital display to guide her she handled the cautery and the knife inside her abdominal cavity. She advanced slowly not to cause more trauma than strictly necessary. She checked on the screens that all was going well, she paused for a moment before moving the soft tissue and revealing her goal. She proceeded to cut as a sigh of relief escaped her lips. Once the organ was separated from the system she cauterized the vessels and used the extractor to make sure not to leave any blood clots. Holding it with extreme care she undid the way out, once she managed to take it out she saved it in the case specifically designed for transporting it. Having secured the valuable cargo she began to sew gently and precisely the incision. She sewed internally with a thread designed to be absorbed through the skin once natural healing process started, and the external with a thinner one to reduce the risk that the young woman might end up (in addition of having lost one of her kidneys) with a huge, nasty reminder.

It was nearly four in the morning when she finally finished. Carefully she loaded the girl and placed her in the tub, the dust had dissolved completely and it would prevent any infection proliferate also relaxing and stimulating the natural healing process. She returned to the room, saved her equipment and put the material used in a special bag. She walked to the table where she left two pills and a piece of paper with a single word written on it.

That would be a night she will not forget easily, she rarely ran into someone who she really had liked not to use as a deposit but her she had no choice, besides and half seriously she told her that it wasn't a good idea but the young woman ignored the warning. Perhaps, this could be a though life lesson, but at least she would live.

It took over an hour and a half to get to the meeting point where the middle aged man was already waiting for her, she gave him the box and in exchange he gave her an envelope with the payment. She didn't even open it, instead she returned the money and settled her debt. The man nodded and smiled pleased. He pulled out a small device and crossed out her name from the long list. With the debt paid, she couldn't help but feeling somewhat happy, so she asked for a warm drink while her former boss walked up the lonely street.

Days passed and slowly her life returned to the usual routine. Even if she could not completely erase form her memory everything she had done to save precious life, she tried hard every single day. She didn't feel particularly guilty, save for that last job. And it was because she now realized that she sincerely wished they've met in other circumstances.

That night she was sharing with some of her co-wokers, they had been rewarded with extra credit for their latest creation, despite the money bonus she could not smile happy. The device they created was to be sold as a solution, but in fact she knew that eventually it will only bring great misfortune, more death and disease. But with good fortune she would live another twenty or twenty five years if she was lucky enough, her planet was one of the few that the average life expectancy for its citizens ranged between forty five and fifty. So most people didn't care about living properly all they wanted was doing it for as long as they could.

One of her partners had been bothering her so she would go out with her brother, she went out with the guy for mere courtesy and because the woman was who used to help her cover her multiple and prolonged absences. The truth was he was a good catch; quite good looking and all, but the color of his eyes were -to his misfortune- almost identical to her last victim. So she left him do all the talking, they managed to exchange a few words but both realized there was no connection between them and deciding that there was no case he offered to take her home. The street was really lonely and the man passed out without warning, she tried to spin around but someone grasped her from behind, she felt a slight sting in her back and seconds later a hit in the back of her head made her lose consciousness.

When she woke up she could barely open her eyes, she focused her eyesight as much as she could and tried to stand up, but her body would not respond. Alarmed she searched frantically not recognizing the place where she was, to the distance she heard what she immediately knew was a tub being filled and looked down at her own naked body. Panic eventually seized when she saw (despite the poor lighting) her body covered with a reddish liquid and the metallic smell finally reached her troubled brain. She tried to move again, but it didn't matter how many times she ordered her limbs to move they simple didn't. She was completely paralyzed.

But she did not feel dizzy anymore, she was fully aware. She recognized the type of anesthesia, it was very common in minor surgeries. If she could laugh, she would had done it willingly, because the situation couldn't be more ironic. Few minutes later she heard footsteps, she closed her eyes as she pretended to be still unconscious. During the entire procedure she feigned it, even if her assailant knew perfectly well that she was wide awake. Finally, she woke up the next morning in a tub of cold water, filled with antibiotic and beside her in a small table a glass of water and two pills: blue for the anesthetic, white for the antibiotic. Next to them the same single note she used to leave, but it what appeared to be a date and a place written as well.

At home, she lifted the cloth to discover her abdomen perfectly stitched, the cut was tiny and she didn't need a doctor to know exactly what she had just lost, but unlikely to whomever had done it she used to take the right one.

Still, she made it to the hospital where she was prescribed with painkillers and a bottle of a powerful antibiotic to prevent infection. She was neither the first nor the last person who was to come that morning with the same unfortunate case.

Back on her department she took the note, she laid in bed and attached the little piece of paper with a magnet on the wall to her left. For the time being she was interested in going, but she still had three months and fourteen days to think it better and decide whether it was a good idea or not. She felt pretty tired so she closed her eyes and fell asleep right away.

As days went by her curiosity grew strong enough to crave for time to advance quicker. She hadn't even once seriously considered not going. So the dated morning she got up, took a quick shower, ate breakfast and wearing her favorite black jacket she took her keycard and left.

When she arrived she noticed that it was indeed a public place: a restaurant in the middle of a commercial complex. She looked around and took a table somewhat away from the crowd. Seconds later a waiter came to take her order and due to her dietary limitations opted to take just chamomile tea. It didn't really matter what she had, she was anxious and maybe that would help calm her nerves. She got distracted looking out the window when a change in her peripheral vision made her turn round.

With eyes fully open she immediately recognized the woman who walked to the seat in front of her, her surprise was much bigger when the newcomer got closer, took her by the collar and kissed her. As she separated the woman winked at her with a wide smile forming on her lips.

A couple of hours later she fought to slid the card on her apartment digital lock as they found their hands unable to separate from each other, their passionate kissing was wild and out of control. But neither had said anything relevant, or that may even be considered important, not in the dining room, not while traveling. The most they had done was looking at each other intently, and kissing as if there was no tomorrow which was because they both knew it could truly be so.

However, amid the maelstrom of passion that threatened to unleash her victim and aggressor performed a scan just to find out that she had not taken proper care of her wound, and therefore her recovery rate was barely above eighty percent. Which limited physical exertion she could do, but also how much _punishment_ her body could take and now they'd have to wait until it increased to at least ninety-five percent , at that stage it was very unlikely to suffer a tissue breakdown.

She could not help feeling disappointed, though the woman was not to blame, she had assumed that she would pay at least one enhanced healing session. It was quite accessible, and with at least twenty percent of the population having suffered a similar procedure said treatment price dropped dramatically over the past two years. However, it was also because many people discovered how easy it was to build the machine with sufficient skill and a moderate investment. Of Course it required a little more space than the department in which she was, possibly a deposit was a perfect place. In order make some money clinics were forced to lower their prices, so almost anyone could access to at least one session every two weeks which was enough to get completely recovered within three months. However, even without the aid of technology she though the scar healed quite well, possibly better than her own and it made her laugh while running her fingers down her bare skin.

The first time she saw her, she was just hanging around and watching people enter or leave the place without interest, but that woman immediately caught her attention. So she approached her and was extremely easy to get her attention , she clearly remembered the woman telling her whit a wide smile she was bad news but she took it as a joke, and thus decided to ignore the warning. Flirting went on for quite a while when the woman suggested going to a place where they could have some privacy, she didn't hesitate a second to accept. But she couldn't remember how she got to the room.

Somewhere between the table and the hall she had been drugged. A shot, powder or spray in the drink she couldn't precise but it had been certainly an effective narcotic. She woke up the next morning to find herself in a tub of cold water and a steady pain in her abdomen. However, she had to settle and stare at the ceiling until her body was able to move. Laughing because she had just swelled the statistics she took the two capsules and then waited patiently for the sedative to work, when the pain was under control she dressed. And taking the note smiled thinking she needed to clean the fridge since she wasn't going to be able to eat half of the food stored.

When she got home she took a shower, meanwhile she carefully analyzed the suture and noticed it was a pretty good job, the cut was an inch large and it required certain skill to remove a kidney with that little hole. She washed the wound, took her uniform and walked to the station but couldn't help to wear a silly smile, that precise and tiny suture suggested it was done with care, one that was common if the patient held some meaning to the surgeon. She knew it for a fact, her work had showed her how nasty sews and terrible sutures could people end up with, most of them just enough for the victim to make it to the hospital and many required a new intervention to be sewn decently. Hers however was small, barely large and sutured properly. The thread used was of good quality and it would not need to be sewn again, she should only take a few antibiotics and about three or four enhanced healing sessions to be fully recovered. The scar would only be a tiny reminder.

And although no one knew why her sudden good mood, all her colleagues decided to let her deal with the two most urgent cases that morning. She attended them while humming happily which got one of her patients upset. Since she was in such good mood she merely lifted her gown to let the man see that she too had gone through the same case and she wasn't been so annoying. Now, they were only two more in the long list. Not paying any more attention to the guy's protests she sedated him and proceed to suture his wound properly even if the man hadn't been nice to her she sewed him carefully. Although It wouldn't make much difference because the cut was pretty bad, as if whoever had done it meant to leave an ugly, thick, long and noticeable scar.

The next two months she used her charms with the register employee, and the young man allowed her to search into the patients' medical records, luckily she didn't have to go so far as to sleep with him. It was enough to keep his hopes up. After many sleepless nights, trapped in that tiny office with the poor guy babbling all he could think of, she finally got what she wanted and without any kindness told him there was no chance she could end up with someone like him. She copied the information on her device and spent the next month carefully planning her next move.

When she finally considered her plan was perfect she simply chose one night and attacked. She hadn't considered the woman to have been accompanied but she had her chance and she didn't waste it. Sheltered by darkness she silently approached, first she got rid of him, then she skillfully injected her true target with a powerful a sedative and to avoid that she might see her face she dealt a heavy bow on the back of her neck. Leaving the guy lying she dragged her victimizer and victim to a nearby compound where she already had everything prepared.

After injecting the sedative she spent time preparing the tub, letting it fill slowly and when the level was high enough for a body she dissolved the powder. She waited a couple of minutes before heading back to the room where the woman laid with her eyes closed, but she noticed how her breathing had changed and smiling decided that she would play along pretending not having noticed that she had awakened. Putting on her gloves and turning the camera on she made the cut and began the procedure, it seemed to her amusing if she took the left one as the woman had taken the right one. Besides, it was a happy coincidence that her victimizer was right-handed and she had her left one as the dominant.

Once finished she carefully injected a potent drug and the woman did lost consciousness until the next morning. After leaving her inside the tub she returned to the room to pack her things up as well as prepared the two pills, she left a stronger sedative that the one the woman had left for her back then. The only problem with local anesthesia was it didn't last long and when she'd awake she'd be rather sore. But she would be able to move from the moment she opened her eyes. She left her handwritten note and after kissing her on the forehead took her items and left. All she had to do now was waiting patiently for time to pass by. She truly hoped the woman decided to show up. Otherwise it would be a real shame as both have paid a fairly high price for an unfortunate first encounter.

But she had gone and things moved as she desired. Of course she couldn't calm her long months frustration, but even though patience wasn't one of life's limited virtues she had no choice but to wait. Or else she might end up hurting her, she'll wait for the time to come when she could finally do as she pleased with her newfound partner. She settled with less but enjoyed letting her embrace her from behind. She smiled widely as she felt the tiny scar brushing against her skin. As the bed wasn't very large, there wasn't really space for both, but none complained.

They met a couple of times, neither asked more than might be necessary or really important and after two weeks they decided that life was too short to be wasted, and time was really a treasure meant to be enjoyed. So they moved to a flat five or six times larger than any of their own. At first it felt somewhat strange for both, but it took them only a few seconds to find a good use for the table that separated the kitchen from the dining room. And a couple of days to find their new apartment cozy enough to call it home. Even though their new bed was spacious enough for the two they still held each other close.

Life was short, it had to be lived at its fullest, for better or worse they paid a price so the years ahead would have meaning. They saw their friends struggle to find among the ten thousand million population one person to be with, it was a race against time and people couldn't allow being too picky. Some succeeded; others failed. As time went by their attraction diminished but that unknown feeling grew stronger. Since few spoke of love in those days, because most thought it was a matter of time which was precisely what they lacked. But even in the midst of such chaotic world, with their neighbors threatening to invade them and life expectancy without improving (in spite of science high advances) a supposedly disappeared feeling found them in an unexpected and strange way.

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**Perhaps in a distant future I will translate and publish something else.**

**Happy New year for everyone.**  



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